In Ephesians 6, Paul is writing a letter while imprisoned. Not much stops Paul from teaching! He is chained to a Roman soldier and starts to compare the uniform of his jailer to the spiritual clothing the Christians in Ephesus should be putting on daily. The enemy that was trying to stop Paul from spreading the gospel then is still trying to attack and destroy the mission and purpose of God’s people today. Attacks will come, struggles will happen, but God has not left us defenseless in the battles we will come up against! Through His incredible strength and limitless power, He offers us His armor and His spirit that literally raised Jesus from the grave. But, we need to know how to use the armor; we need to know how to dress, and how to weather through the battles totally armed and completely dangerous! None of this is possible without Jesus. No! Us in our own strength can hardly accomplish anything worthy, and why would we want to try? Not as a one-time prayer, but a daily prayer, we can wake in the morning and ask God to help us prepare for our day.

The Belt of Truth: The Roman soldiers would put on their belts first before any of the armor. It served to secure their clothes in place. Truth holds us in place and it is the foundation we build upon. If we’re unsure about the truth, or not rooted in it, everything else we try to build will be shaky and unsteady. Put on the belt of truth so we can stand firm and secure.

The Breastplate of Righteousness: The breastplate protects the most vital and sensitive parts of our bodies. So when we’re clothed righteousness, we’re living under the righteousness of Jesus. Like this, our lives speak for themselves. Put on the breastplate of righteousness and protect your heart with…

Sandals of Readiness: One of the most important pieces of the soldiers’ uniform were their shoes. Their shoes had metal spikes so they could literally stake themselves to the ground and stand firm against whoever was attacking them. If our feet are ready and we are secure in our mission we cannot be moved, and we will be ready to bring the gospel with us wherever we go.

Helmet of Salvation: If you’re going into battle, you need a helmet. The Romans’ helmet would cover their entire head, but still let them see clearly where they were going. Salvation covers all as well. Salvation covers our cringe-worthy pasts, and lets us head into the future full of focus. It allows us to live out of faith, and not fear. Guard your mind, and put on the helmet of salvation.

Shield of Faith: The Romans carried huge body shields; not wimpy, cute shields. So the enemy could shoot their very worst-flaming arrows, pointed spears-but it would be extinguished by the shield. The attacks that come our way could throw anything at us, but those weapons would be swallowed up by the faith we hold firm to. Then when we add our faith to the faith of our brothers and sisters and stand shoulder to shoulder armed with shields, who could really stop us? Is there really anything that could take us out?!

Sword of the Spirit: The sword of the Spirit is the awesome, power wielding word of God. It’s an offensive and a defensive tool in our armor. When we speak the word of God we can defend ourselves and speak back to the enemy. We can come against the lies being told to us with the true word of God! Learn how to use that sword to stop the advance of the enemy and to take back territory stolen from you!

Pray, and be alert. Through prayer, the armor is there for you. Ask for it daily, receive it every day.